Chapter 827: Knot (14)
The spirit, mentioning Lennok’s Obsidian Mask, drew forth a magic scribe blackened with power.
Crackling…!!
Distorted magic scribes spun between its fingers, emitting an ominous, fiery aura.
A bizarre will-thought, as if attempting to forcibly transfer by polluting the very air around it.
But before the black magic scribe drawn by the spirit could reach Lennok, another spirit seated nearby stepped forward.
“Damon. What are you doing?”
A fox-headed beast-headed spirit, with pristine white fur, grabbed the black spirit’s arm.
Its lithe physique appeared female, and its calm eyes held an unreadable expression.
“We haven’t heard anything from this human yet. Please refrain from rash actions.”
“Don’t interfere, Azbel.”
The black spirit, called Damon, replied irritably.
“As a noble of Ars Nova, I merely have something to pass on to a descendant.”
“It’s not just an object. Your will-thought is too dangerous for a normal human to accept.”
“Normal human? How is he a normal human?”
Damon laughed, looking at Lennok.
“He’s the one who invaded the sanctuary, shattered an Ascendant’s remains, and brought down the tower. Judging by his power in life, he must have surpassed you and me long ago.”
“……”
“Though he seems to be allied with a traitor’s family, considering his talent and achievements, it’s only natural to bestow such courtesy. So…”
Snap!!
The jet-black magic scribe, having bypassed the fox-beastkin Azbel’s hand, instantly plunged towards Lennok.
Lennok’s magic scribes connected with it in the air, intertwining as if holding hands.
Simultaneously, Lennok’s magic scribes began to blacken and transform from their very roots.
The intense will-thought flowing into Damon was covering Lennok’s magic scribes, changing their color.
“……It seems my words are falling on deaf ears.”
Azbel, realizing he had finally touched Lennok, summoned her magic with a vexed expression.
“Have you forgotten who took on the role of Guide during the Night Parade?”
“Azbel. That’s enough.”
The giant restrained Azbel, who looked ready to unleash her magic on Damon at any moment.
“I understand your feelings, but we must avoid fighting among ourselves. Have you forgotten our current plight?”
“……”
While Azbel remained silent, Lennok watched as his magic scribes were dyed black by Damon’s extended will-thought.
It wasn’t merely a change in appearance; it was subtly altering the very nature of the magic scribes.
He could have easily repelled it immediately if he wanted, but Damon’s earlier words lingered in his mind.
Lennok looked at the jet-black magic scribes and asked,
“An unpleasant will-thought. What is this?”
“Oh, you can speak? It should be difficult to stay conscious during a succession.”
Damon, watching Lennok with interest, spoke.
“It’s a process of specializing the properties of magic scribes, used as a medium for manipulation spellcraft, for spatial interference.”
“Spatial interference?”
“Ars Nova had many excellent manipulation wizards, and in later periods, attempts to alter the properties of magic scribes became prevalent.”
Damon explained.
“What I’m passing on to you now is externally sourced magic that functions as a key to open a ‘gate’.”
“……”
A key to open a gate.
As soon as Lennok heard those words, he understood what gate Damon was referring to.
A gate mentioned by a central city noble would undoubtedly refer to a rift leading to the Outer Sea, a passage like the Well of the Codex.
Crackle!!
Lennok’s magic scribes soon turned the same black as Damon’s, pulled even tighter.
As their properties changed, the cohesion and strength of the magic scribes increased.
Damon looked at him and slowly extended a hand towards Lennok.
“Finally, by gradually exchanging our spirits, we’ll keep this matter confidential and prove the authority of the noble—”
CRACK!!
At that moment, Damon’s form buckled, as if crushed and shaken on the spot.
“……!!”
“As a fellow manipulation wizard, I’ll accept the knowledge you’ve imparted.”
Just as the other spirits watched, looking slightly surprised and turning to Damon, Lennok retracted the jet-black magic scribes and retorted,
“But matters of nobility or spirits have nothing to do with me.”
“You…”
Damon, quickly regaining his composure despite the shock of his spirit being shaken, looked down at Lennok.
“You’ve done something to your own spirit.”
“What?”
“My will-thought, infused into you, is vanishing on the spot without returning.”
Damon’s impassive gaze stared intently into Lennok’s eyes.
“Any will-thought that passes through another spirit is deemed an impurity, not even allowed to return.”
Damon’s tone, as he shook his head with a creak, had subtly changed, sounding quite intrigued.
“An untouchable purity that you’re not even aware of… Are you perhaps of a Transcendent’s bloodline?”
“……”
“Damon. Let’s leave it at that for now.”
Palunz, who had been observing the situation, sensed the unusual atmosphere and immediately stepped forward.
“If I leave things to you here, this conversation will drag on. Discussing the current situation should be our priority.”
“……”
“From the circumstances, it must be you who visited Mugan and brought down the sanctuary.”
As Damon scattered ominous will-thought with an unreadable expression, Palunz looked at Lennok and asked,
“Can you tell us what you saw in Mugan, if anything?”
“……The throne located in the center of the sanctuary. I thought it was unnecessarily massive for Dorye’s stature.”
Lennok said to Palunz, who was looking at him with surprise.
“It was yours, then.”
“……Hmm. That’s not wrong, I suppose. Though that wasn’t what I was asking.”
Palunz cleared his throat and replied.
“I was one of the legion commanders who led the Giant Legion, and after our defeat in the great war, I joined the Night Parade. I had placed the artifacts I used back then in the sanctuary, and it seems they remained.”
“Giant Legion, you say…”
He had thought they were strangely powerful Military Spirits, but they were high-ranking members of the Giant Legion?
Unlike the spirits of the Court of Soul Pacification, it seemed there were indeed many extraordinary figures among the ancient spirits.
Or perhaps, it was because the spirits of the Court of Soul Pacification had guarded the Memorial Tower and fallen into decline, losing even their power and lineage.
At Lennok’s casual murmur, Palunz’s expression suddenly brightened.
“Hmm, you know about the Legion?”
“I once visited the graveyard of the Giant Legion. I saw their armaments and their corpses. Each one was quite remarkable.”
Palunz nodded, seemingly pleased by Lennok’s calm reply.
“Unlike the young ones these days, you know how to honor history…”
“You don’t seem particularly attached to the collapse of the Memorial Tower or the end of the Night Parade.”
Lennok, gazing at the spirits, asked.
“Then what is it you wish to know from me?”
“You seem to be mistaken about something, Practitioner of the Den of Fiends.”
Palunz shook his head.
Leaning his arms on the throne, he tilted his head slightly, and his face loomed over Lennok’s head.
“The collapse of the Memorial Tower is regrettable. And the Night Parade ending without blossoming is also regrettable.”
“……”
“However, we are beings who rejected the failure of the Night Parade and were exiled… So, in a way, we think this was bound to happen eventually.”
He understood that the exiled ancient spirits had woken up immediately after the Memorial Tower’s collapse and were now governing the city.
But their reason for waiting for Lennok wouldn’t just be to tell him their thoughts on the current situation.
“Regardless of the Memorial Tower’s collapse, the sanctuary of Mugan, which observes curses, holds great meaning for us.”
Palunz said.
“If Mugan hasn’t disappeared but has transformed into an independent space, we intend to reclaim it. To do so, we need to know exactly what happened inside the sanctuary.”
“You are the only one who truly knows the current situation and outcome within the sanctuary, human.”
The spirit of the blue knight, seated on another throne, continued.
“If you fully recount what you experienced in Mugan here, we will free you from all responsibility for this incident.”
“……”
“The responsibility for this incident lies with the spirits of the Court of Soul Pacification who fled to the spiritual realm, and with Lord Haionil who stood at their head—”
The spirits subtly looked around, nodding as if in agreement with their decision.
“It would be cleaner for transferring authority over the city if we don’t assign responsibility to an outsider.”
With the Memorial Tower collapsed and the spirits of the Court of Soul Pacification fled, it was inevitable that the exiled ancient spirits would assume administrative roles.
Separately, it was convenient for reorganizing their internal system not to officially involve an outsider in this incident, he thought.
Lennok had never directly managed such a vast sphere of influence, so he couldn’t fully grasp their words, but he understood their intentions behind the offer.
In summary, they needed a convenient arrangement to handle things smoothly, to get their story straight, so to speak.
“……Alright. I’ll do it.”
After a brief consideration, Lennok nodded.
Since he knew they weren’t going to be coercive, there was no reason to refuse.
They also seemed more interested in Yorta’s reconstruction and reclaiming Mugan than in him, so there was no need to draw a clear line.
Lennok immediately gave the spirits an abridged account of what had transpired concerning the Ascendant’s remains.
While he filtered out information directly related to himself, it was sufficient to explain the core events.
“So Haionil became a curse of Mugan, merging with the sanctuary itself…”
“The agreement with the Papal See is broken, so they might try to make contact.”
“We have to focus on reconstruction and pursuit from both the material and spiritual realms. This is going to be a headache.”
“More than that, I’m amazed this person truly fought an Ascendant and returned alive.”
Amidst the spirits discussing their next steps, Azbel looked down at Lennok and spoke.
“It’s clear from the circumstances that the deceased Ascendant regained memories and awakened. Yet to survive the sanctuary and return with his life… Just what kind of place is Pandemonium?”
“Well,” Lennok replied.
“At least, it’s not the proper organization you might imagine.”
“……”
“Practitioner, we express our gratitude for your cooperation in this matter.”
Among the spirits, who exchanged silent glances, Palunz concluded the situation.
“Although what you have done may not bring only positive results to this city… we believe it was a necessary change that was due for some time.”
“……”
“As promised, we will not hold you accountable for anything and pledge to assist you in leaving this city whenever you wish.”
“I’d like to leave immediately, if possible.”
Lennok replied, closing his eyes.
“I only stayed here because I thought I needed to conclusively settle matters with your leadership.”
Due to hastily handling various affairs, there were still unexplored areas and secrets left in Yorta.
However, Lennok understood that, having achieved his original objectives to some extent, it would be difficult to stay in Yorta for long.
Given his own considerably deteriorated condition, he should return to Vulcan as quickly as possible if he could.
The very act of meeting and speaking with the spirits now was to leave open the possibility of returning to Yorta in the future, as he concluded his journey here.
The spirits, understanding Lennok’s intention, immediately nodded.
“In that case, we’ll assign a guide to help you cross the Headrain River at once.”
“Naimel, please guide this individual and summon Aoroshiku. We have a task for him regarding the warlords waiting outside the city.”
“Understood.”
“Aoroshiku? Is that idiot still in Yorta?”
Leaving the spirits who had resumed their discussion in the ceremonial hall, Naimel nodded towards Lennok.
Lennok followed Naimel and immediately exited the shrine.
“This way, honored guest.”
The vast shrine path split left and right with Lennok’s steps, leading towards the central district canal, hidden among the ruins.
The back path of Yorta’s central district shrine. A narrow evacuation route connecting the city’s highest tier to its outermost edge.
Naimel stood with her back to the evacuation route entrance and spoke to Lennok.
“If you follow this path, you will meet your guide.”
“……”
“The high priestess’s… that you acquired, honored guest.”
Naimel, who had begun to say something to Lennok, then closed her mouth and gently shook her head.
“No, there’s nothing for me to say, now that I’ve left the cult.”
“……”
“If you visit this city again, I look forward to seeing you then.”
She, too, must have her own thoughts about the cult and the Pontiff.
Lennok was not entirely uncurious about how a apostate who had left the cult would now think of and treat them.
But he didn’t know enough about Naimel to press her about something she clearly didn’t want to say.
Leaving Naimel, who bowed slightly, Lennok walked slowly along the passage.
Splash!!
As he walked the passage beside the narrow waterway, Oris’s voice was heard from afar.
“Human, over here.”
“……”
“You’ll have to hurry if you want to cross the Headrain River today. Get in quickly.”
The boy spirit was sitting in a small rowboat, waving to Lennok.
Lennok boarded the rowboat, following Oris, and asked,
“So you were the guide who was prepared.”
“Didn’t you use that as an excuse to save me from the Court of Soul Pacification?”
Oris retorted, grasping the oars beside the rowboat with both hands.
With a light stroke of the oars, the boat smoothly and slowly glided out into the canal.
Oris rowed slowly, facing Lennok, and shrugged nonchalantly.
“Be grateful. A spirit of my caliber offered to guide you.”
“……For that, though.”
Lennok replied, glancing down at the bottom of the rowboat.
A Ghost Shark, diligently flapping its fins beneath the boat’s surface, pulling the vessel along.
“It seems the shark is doing all the hard work, not you.”
“Damn it, I was trying to show off a little. Would it kill you to pretend you didn’t see?”
Oris, annoyed, let go of the oars he was pretending to row with and sprawled back in the rowboat.
He turned his head abruptly, gazed silently at the flowing river, and said,
“Thank you for this.”
“For what?”
“For obliterating the Ascendant’s remains. For bringing down the tower. For getting rid of the spirits of the Court of Soul Pacification.”
Oris replied.
“All of it should have ended long ago… In fact, it’s long overdue.”
“……”
“We tried to solve it ourselves, but it was a problem that couldn’t be resolved without a variable like you.”
The boy’s gaze, fiddling with the rowboat, seemed to pass Lennok and fix on something farther away.
“Perhaps the world’s end is also that kind of problem. Don’t you think?”
“……Perhaps.”
“Even if the end is near, we’ve been given a chance to start again.”
Oris said, guiding the rowboat.
“To stand at the starting line. Even if it’s just a vain hope…”
Not everyone prepares their own answer for the end.
Nor is it determined that the world’s impending end will only be a brutal demise.
The important thing is to live in the present moment, find meaning, and create reasons to live.
Even if he was a Military Spirit with only his soul remaining, Oris humbly accepted that Yorta needed this.
Everyone has their own life, and their own values.
What is truly valuable and noble ultimately depends on oneself reflecting at the end of life.
Therefore, Lennok understood and accepted the value of life Oris spoke of, and his way of existence.
“Once you leave this city, you’ll still be a heinous outlaw, a member of a vile criminal organization… But I won’t forget.”
Oris said.
“That a standard and an answer exist somewhere beyond good and evil, and that people like you can sometimes come closer to it than anyone else.”
“……”
“That the value of our remaining time, its success or failure, lies in the process of reaching that point.”
“You…”
An answer that could only come from being influenced by Lennok’s journey.
Perhaps he heard the will-thought exchanged between Croken and Lennok during their clash.
Hum…!!
As Oris spoke, his form seemed to gradually grow stronger before Lennok’s eyes.
An answer reached through deliberation. The conceptual structure of his will-thought was taking shape, subtly shifting his hierarchy.
But instead of telling Oris this fact, Lennok snorted and turned his head.
He knew the meaning better than anyone, so there was no need to explain it to Oris.
“Say whatever you want. It has nothing to do with me anyway.”
Creak…!!
The rowboat crossed the Headrain River, gradually nearing the swamps visible in the distance.
The dock where Lennok first arrived near Yorta, after fighting a maddened Apostle and dragging its corpse.
Thud!!
The Ghost Shark, swimming below the river, must have bumped its head against the dock, as the old wooden structure shook violently, and the caretakers rushed out in alarm.
As the surroundings instantly grew noisy, Oris, letting go of the oars he was pretending to hold, pulled something out from his pocket.
“Here, take this.”
“I don’t accept trash.”
“Trash?! This is a precious item!”
Oris, indignant, forcibly placed a small pendant into Lennok’s hand.
It was old and grimy with use, looking at first glance like junk that wouldn’t be strange to discard.
“Not everyone who dies in this world can become a Military Spirit,” Oris said as Lennok took it and lifted it.
“Sometimes, with the death of the body, the spirit also perishes, leaving no trace of its existence in this world ever again.”
“……”
“That pendant will prevent your spirit from perishing, even at the moment of your death.”
“An item that prevents the spirit from perishing?”
“Yes, you never know, do you?”
Oris said with a mischievous expression.
“If you were to die by unavoidable circumstances and lose your body, leaving only your spirit… you could become a Military Spirit more powerful than anyone else.”